There’s joy in the air for the Eagles

MINNEAPOLIS —  His vertical might not be so high anymore, but Donovan McNabb had enough spring in his legs to leap several times in a row, pumping his fist with every bound as teammate Brian Westbrook crossed the goal line.

The Philadelphia Eagles had reason to jump for joy.

“You’re seeing a team playing with a lot of energy, playing with emotion and just having fun,” McNabb said. “That’s the most important thing we had to get back to.”

A team left for dead after a 29-point loss to the Baltimore Ravens in November has resurfaced as a contender. McNabb’s arm and Westbrook’s legs -- not to mention a relentless, blitzing defense -- led the Eagles to a 26-14 victory over the Minnesota Vikings in the NFC playoffs Sunday.

In a span of 16 seconds, the Eagles put the game away. That’s how much time elapsed as Westbrook caught a short screen pass from McNabb, darted through traffic and cut back down the middle of the field for a 71-yard touchdown midway through the fourth quarter, giving the Eagles a 23-14 lead.

“That’s the only way we knew they were going to hurt us, with the passing game and completing those short passes,” said Vikings cornerback Antoine Winfield, who was tossed to the ground by receiver Kevin Curtis to clear Westbrook’s path. “They made plays.”

As the Eagles exited the field, their fans congregated near the tunnel taunting their next opponent, the New York Giants. McNabb soaked it all in, raising a ball in the air as he left the field.

He might salute Philadelphia fans for years to come.

McNabb, who completed 23 of 34 passes for 300 yards and a touchdown, received a vote of confidence before the game from Jeffrey Lurie, the team’s owner. Lurie told the Boston Globe he had every intention of bringing back his quarterback next season.

So much for that Chicago homecoming, Bears fans.

McNabb has two years and almost $20 million left on his contract. He was asked if he wanted to return to Philadelphia.

“I never said I didn’t want to be here,” he said. “I’m here. It’s exciting. Nice try.”

McNabb later expanded on his thoughts.

“It’s solidifying to hear [Lurie] say that, where I don’t have to answer the questions,” he said. “When it comes down to communicating, we’ll communicate between the two sides.

“I’ve been through so much speculation throughout my career that it means nothing to me. I blow that stuff off at this point.”

McNabb and cornerback Asante Samuel made sure the Eagles didn’t blow the lead. After three David Akers field goals built a 9-7 advantage, Samuel made the momentum-changing play, intercepting a Tarvaris Jackson pass in the second quarter and returning it 44 yards for a score.

The Vikings responded with an Adrian Peterson three-yard touchdown run before halftime.

Peterson, whose 40-yard touchdown accounted for the Vikings’ only other score, ran for 83 yards but only 17 in the second half. His team suddenly became one-dimensional, with the erratic Jackson completing only 15 of 35 passes.

Any chance of a late Vikings’ comeback was foiled when center Matt Birk’s bad snap to Jackson was recovered by Eagles defensive end Juqua Parker with 2:53 left.

“We were disappointed because we felt like we had enough to keep going,” Jackson said. “We felt like we were a better team. They did a better job than us today and beat us fair and square.”